QUALIFICATIONS OF PERSONS WORKING IN RADIATION USERS ORGANIZATION AND RADIATION PROTECTION TRAINING

1
QUALIFICATIONS OF PERSONS WORKING IN RADIATION
USERS ORGANIZATION AND RADIATION PROTECTION
TRAINING REQUIRED FOR COMPETENCE IN FINLAND

• First EUTERP Platform Workshop Qualifications
  and Requirements for Recognition of Radiation
  Protection Experts, Radiation Protection Officers
  and Radiation Workers
• Vilnius, Lithuania
• 22-24 May 2007
• Ritva Havukainen
• Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK)
• www.stuk.fi

2
What are the expectations of the Platform?

• Differences in national practices?
• legislation and requirements
• qualifications and recognition practices
• RP training content and amount
• Is there needs for revision of national
  practices?
• Revision of the directive 96/29/Euratom

3
What is the strength of the qualification system
and the requirements for recognition of RPEs and
RPOs in your country?

• Legislation and requirements in Finland
• Radiation Act (592/1991)
• Radiation Decree (1512/1991)
• Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and
  Health on the medical use of radiation
  (423/2000)
• Guide ST 1.4, Radiation users organization.
  Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK),
  2004.
• Guide ST 1.7, Training in Health Care, STUK, 2003
• Guide ST 1.8, Qualifications of Persons Working
  in Radiation Users Organization and RP Training
  Required for Competence. STUK, 2004.
• www.stuk.fi

4
What is the strength of the qualification system
and the requirements for recognition of RPEs and
RPOs in your country?

• According to the Radiation Act (592/1991)
• The party running a radiation practice (licensee)
  is responsible for ensuring that persons in the
  radiation users organization possess the
  training and qualifications required for their
  duties.
• Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK)
  shall
• stipulate the qualifications required of a RSO
  and of other persons working in the user's
  organization, and
• investigate compliance with the said
  stipulations.

5
Radiation users organization(Guide ST 1.4)

• Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) and other
  responsible persons
• nominated by the licensee
• accepted by STUK
• usually RSOs expertise is enough to take also
  QEs role
• Specialist expertise
• qualified expert (QE)
• STUK requires nomination of a QE in a licence if
  RSOs expertise is not enough
• medical physics expert (MPE)
• medical physicist , who has completed a RSO exam
• Duties of a RSO, other responsible persons and
  experts
• defined by the licensee
• typical duties listed in the Guide ST 1.4

6
Qualifications and RP training of a RSO(Guide ST
1.8)

• 11 different fields of competences
• X-ray practices in health care
• Nuclear medicine
• Radiotherapy
• etc.
• Qualifications in various fields of competences
• X-ray Practices in health care specialist in
  radiology, medical physicist or physician who has
  completed a RSO exam
• Nuclear medicine medical physicist or specialist
  in clinical physiology and nuclear medicine, who
  has completed a RSO exam
• etc.
• Content and minimum amount of RP training
• general RP training (5 h) all fields of
  competences
• practice specified training (5, 10, 20, 80 h)
  depending on fields of competences
• supplementary training of a RSO in work
• medical use of radiation 20 h/5 years
• non-medical use of radiation 10 h/5 years

7
Training organizations arranging RSO exams

• Recognition
• training program exam according to the Guide ST
  1.8
• acceptance by STUK for 5 years
• Certificate
• an indication that the nominated person is
  competent to serve as a RSO
• STUK requires when accepting a RSO

8
Health care personnel involved in the use of
radiation

• Qualifications of personnel
• Decree of the MSAH (423/2000)
• a physician issuing referrals to a procedure
  involving exposure to radiation
• a physician responsible for a procedure
• professional performing a procedure
• medical physics experts
• Content and minimum amount of RP training (Guide
  ST 1.7)
• for different worker groups (physicians, nurses,
  physicists, etc.)
• based on the publication Radiation Protection
  116 Guidelines on education and training in
  radiation protection for medical exposures.
  European Commission, 2001.

9
Minimum amount of RP training of physicians
(Guide ST 1.7)

• Basic training
• physician, dentist 40 h
• Further training
• orthopaedist, cardiologist, dentist, referring
  physician,
• physician performing medical surveillance
  (category A) 20 h
• specialist in radiology, interventional
  cardiologist,
• radiation therapy physician, nuclear medicine
  physician 40 h
• Supplementary training
• referring physician 8 h/5year
• orthopaedist, cardiologist, dentist, referring
  physician,
• physician performing medical surveillance 20/5y
  ear
• specialist in radiology, interventional
  cardiologist,
• radiation therapy physician, nuclear medicine
  physician 40 h/5year

10
Weaknesses and deficiencies

• Requirements for training organizations?
• competence and training of trainers
• training material
• Regulatory control of RP training and exams?
• Are the content and amount of RP training same in
  different training organizations?
• Are the exams and completing criteria similar
  enough?
• Competence of RSOs and radiation workers on site?
• no renewals of certificates
• supplementary training requirements

11
Flexibility in the qualifications, and what are
the requirements in order to reach international
consensus on these issues?

• Qualifications and RP training of RSO, QE and
  other responsible workers
• could be standardized internationally
• QE should have an academic degree
• a medical physicist serves as a MPE and a QE in
  medical use of radiation
• a separate QE is not needed in simple use of
  radiation
• knowledge of national language and requirements
• supplementary training
• In Finland
• Requirements in the Guide ST 1.8 quite easy to
  revise

12
Flexibility in the qualifications, and what are
the requirements in order to reach international
consensus on these issues?

• Qualifications and RP training of radiation users
• good practices can be given internationally
• universities have autonomy to arrange their
  studies
• In Finland
• medical use of radiation Decree of MSAH
  (423/2000) and Guide ST 1.7
• non-medical use Guide ST 1.8
• no need to revise at the moment